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Carolina (English) No 380
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STUDENTS' E-MAIL NEWS FROM THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Charles University in Prague
Faculty of Social Sciences
Smetanovo nabr. 6
110 01 Prague 1
Czech Republic
e-mail: CAROLINA@mbox.fsv.cuni.cz ISSN 121-5040
tel: (+4202) 22112252, fax: (+4202) 22112219
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 380, Friday, June 16, 2000.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (June 7 - June 14)
IPB in Forced Administration
The Czech National Bank June 16 placed the Investment and Postal
Bank (Investicni a postovni banka, IPB), the third-largest Czech bank,
under forced administration. The Czech National Bank and the Finance
Ministry announced the move together, saying it was taken to protect
deposits and the stability of the banking sector.
Ernst & Young is carrying out an in-depth audit and its expected
results are causing great worry. It is assumed that the auditing company
will ask IPB to increase its reserves by at least 20 billion crowns. The
current shareholders did not wish to do so and asked the state for help,
even though the controlling shareholder of IPB is not the state but the
Japanese investment bank Nomura. The shareholders argued that the
government has helped all the other major Czech banks. Nomura also
requested the state buy back Nomura's stake in the bank for one crown.
Information about the bank's problems resulted in mass withdrawals
by clients - the total amount of money withdrawn June 12 was 1.35
billion crowns. The Finance Ministry and the Czech National Bank (Ceska
narodni banka, CNB) issued a statement June 13 recommending an increase
of the bank's basic capital.
During a Commemoration of Lidice Extermination a Statue of 82 Children
Was Unveiled
The 58th anniversary of the tragedy of the Lidice village was
commemorated June 10. At the site of the 173 graves of executed men
about 300 people listened to speeches from Prime Minister Milos Zeman,
Senate Vice Chairman Petr Pithart and Chamber of Deputies Vice
Chairwoman Petra Buzkova.
Lidice, a village west of Prague, was on June 10, 1942 leveled by
German soldiers because of alleged collaboration with the Czechoslovak
paratroopers who assassinated Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich. Some
192 men were shot, all but 11 women were transported to concentration
camps, the lives of 82 children out of Lidice's 105 ended in the gas
chambers.
To commemorate the tragedy, a bronze statue was unveiled of the 82
children from Lidice who died in the Polish concentration camp in
Chelmn.
The decision to create it was made by sculptor Marie Uchytilova and
her husband Jiri Hampl in 1969. He continued work on the statue alone
after her death in 1989. The monumental work took 30 years to complete.
Pavel Novotny/Veronika Hankusova
Havel recovering from successful operation
President Vaclav Havel should leave the Military Hospital in Prague
in one week, according to doctors' plans. He underwent surgery to remove
abdominal hernias last week. His recovery was complicated by slight
respiratory problems. Havel's condition is constantly improving, he took
a short walk June 12.
Dita Eckhardtova/Ondrej Maly
ODS Ideology Conference: Beware of Europe!
"Unlike others - as a substitute for a missing political program
- we do not romantically wave blue flags with yellow stars," said Civic
Democratic Party (Obcanska demokraticka strana, ODS) Chairman Vaclav
Klaus during the party's ideology conference, which took place June 11
in Prague. Klaus also said there is no real alternative to Czech
membership in the European Union (EU), but that should not lead to
"artificially inoculated hurray Europeanism." Jan Kasal, chairman of the
Christian Democrats, said "Klaus showed the public what he really thinks
about our EU membership." Klaus' speech was also criticized by Prime
Minister Milos Zeman.
Jan Vedral/Jakub Jirovec
NEWS IN BRIEF
* The prime ministers of the Visegrad Four - the Czech Republic,
Poland, Hungary and Slovakia - agreed June 9 to found a new fund to
support cultural, science and sporting activities.
* Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan visited Prague June 12. He
talked with Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman and Foreign Minister Jan
Kavan. Kavan said the Czech Republic supports Croatia joining NATO and
the EU.
Jan Vedral/Jakub Jirovec
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Czech Republic Opens Last Entrance Chapter
European Union countries' foreign ministers and the foreign
ministers of the six EU candidate countries met June 13 in Luxembourg to
discuss this year's membership negotiations. They also opened the last
chapter of membership talks - agriculture, which is connected with about
40,000 regulations. The candidate countries demand subsidies once in the
EU, but the EU does not want to provide funds for underdeveloped
agriculture, the most notable example being Poland. The Czech Republic
closed foreign-relations and customs-union chapters during the meeting
and so Czech diplomats have closed 13 of 29 chapters.
Lenka Ludvikova/Jakub Jirovec
Harsh Words for Dienstbier from UN Mission Chief in Kosovo
Bernard Kouchner, the head of the UN civilian administration in
Kosovo (UNMIK), criticized former Czechoslovak Foreign Minister Jiri
Dienstbier at a press conference in Pristina June 12. When answering
a question about the critical remarks concerning the situation in Kosovo
made by Dienstbier, who serves as a UN human rights envoy for the former
Yugoslavia, Kouchner said, "Shut up, Mr. Dienstbier," and said he is not
interested in the person and opinions of Dienstbier any more.
According to Czech media reports, Kouchner's slip of tongue ("I am
not ready to receive you, Mr. Dienstbier, nor Mr. Vaclav Havel")
mistakenly sullied the Czech president, who strongly objected to
Dienstbier's opinion on UN policy in Kosovo in the past. Kouchner sent
a personal letter to Havel June 13 rectifying
his remark and explaining Kouchner's appreciation for Havel position.
Lenka Ludvikova/Milan Smid
FROM SLOVAKIA
Economy Grows
According to the Statistics Office of Slovakia, industrial
production has risen by 18 per cent, compared to last April. Other
estimates claim a more modest increase of 10-12 per cent. The key
element in the economy is export, where rubber, electronics and
automobile industry have the leading share. Firms and factories that do
not export are in financial troubles. The main reason for economic
growth therefore seems to be an ideal situation abroad, particularly the
growth of production and consumption in Europe.
Lenka Ludvikova/Daniela Vrbova
ECONOMY
Unemployment Rate Down
The Czech Statistics Office (Cesky statisticky urad) announced the
unemployment rate declined in May to 8.7 per cent from April's 9 per
cent. The rate has been declining slightly since its January maximum of
9.8 per cent, and the current numbers have been adjusted for summer
seasonal work. Statisticians say a slight revitalization of industrial
production and governmental subsidies for the metallurgic and
coal-mining industries have contributed to the decline.
Final Price for the Czech Savings Bank
Austria's Erste Bank will fill the Czech state's coffers with
19.38 billion crowns for 52 per cent of the Czech Savings Bank (Ceska
sporitelna). The money will be used to offset some of the debt of the
Consolidation Bank (Konsolidacni banka).
Economic section prepared by Jakub Trnka/Simon Dominik
Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid June 19)
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 EUR = 36.170
country currency CZK
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 23.003
Great Britain 1 GBP 57.253
Denmark 1 DKK 4.849
Japan 100 JPY 36.629
Canada 1 CAD 25.647
IMF 1 XDR 50.493
Hungary 100 HUF 13.925
Norway 1 NOK 4.393
New Zealand 1 NZD 18.020
Poland 1 PLN 8.579
Greece 100 GRD 10.741
Slovakia 100 SKK 85.769
Slovenia 100 SIT 17.476
Sweden 1 SEK 4.377
Switzerland 1 CHF 23.177
USA 1 USD 37.837
Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro
(converted from the euro rate)
country currency CZK
-----------------------------------------
Germany 1 DEM 18.493
Belgium 100 BEF 89.663
Finland 1 FIM 6.083
France 1 FRF 5.514
Ireland 1 IEP 45.926
Italy 1000 ITL 18.680
Luxemburg 100 LUF 89.493
Netherlands 1 NLG 16.413
Portugal 100 PTE 18.042
Austria 1 ATS 2.629
Spain 100 ESP 21.739
CULTURE
Golden Prague Television Festival Grand Prize Heads for Sweden
Prizes were bestowed in the Prague State Opera June 7 on the final
evening of the international television festival of classical music,
jazz and ballet programming. The main prize - the Golden Prague Grand
Prize - was conferred upon the Swedish TV station SVT for Tchaikovsky's
ballet Sleeping Beauty.
The festival took place from June 4-7 and there were 115 programs
from 28 countries. This year, the festival was newly opened to the
public - spectators could watch 40 selected programs in the French
Institute, the Goethe Institute and the MAT and Evald cinemas. Entrance
was free.
Pavel Novotny/Daniela Vrbova
SPORTS
Soccer Euro 2000: Czechs Lose to Netherlands 0-1
The Czech national soccer team, runner-up in the last European
Championships in England in 1996, played its first game in this year's
Euro in Amsterdam June 11 against the Netherlands. The Netherlands were
considered the biggest favorites of the tournament, while the Czechs had
advanced to the tournament without a loss in 10 qualification games and
were third in the FIFA Rankings. Czech players from Italian clubs, Pavel
Nedved and Tomas Repka, expressed doubts about referee Pierluigi Collina
of Italy.
The first half was ruled by the Dutch team, which almost did not
let its opponent into its half and left the 11,000 Czech fans in
Amsterdam expecting a goal. However, the focused defense of the Czech
team did not allow any good chances, on the contrary Pavel Nedved's
20-meter shot missed van der Sar's goal by a few centimeters in the
45th minute.
After the break, the teams swapped roles. The Czechs kept the ball
and gave one of their best performances. Karel Poborsky missed Nedved's
centering pass in front of an empty goal in the 47th minute, 10 minutes
later Jan Koller's shot found van der Sar's hands. Nedved's header hit
the post in the 58th minute, Koller's clanged off the crossbar in the
64th minute. In the 89th minute captain Jiri Nemec pulled substitute
Ronald de Boer's jersey, and the Italian referee ordered penalty kick
and Frank de Boer, brother of the fouled player, converted it.
Coach Jozef Chovanec said the referee's decision was scandalous. It
occupied the sport sections of the Czech and European newspapers for
several days. Even some Dutch players said the penalty was not proper.
The Czechs have to defeat France, the world champions, in the next
game June 16. They will then meet their last opponent in the group,
Denmark, June 21.
Pavel Novotny/Mirek Langer
After deadline: the Czechs lost to France 2-1.
WEATHER
The heat wave of recent days with temperatures above 30 degrees
Celsius/88 degrees Fahrenheit made life in the cities, with their heavy
car traffic and layers of smog, occasionally unpleasant. Thus the
succeeding occasional rains and thunderstorms were welcomed, with the
exception of those accompanied by a small tornado that damaged villages
in the Chomutov region and those accompanied by torrential rains and
floods as in the Benesov region of Central Bohemia.
English version edited by Michael Bluhm.
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